A Little Witch
by Silver Sailor Ganymede
Summary: Eleven-year-old Hermione Granger receives her Hogwarts letter.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A Little Witch  
By Silver Sailor Ganymede

William and Maria Granger were quite happy to admit that they were rather eccentric, not that that was a bad thing. But they weren't insane, they weren't spiritualists, and they most certainly weren't stupid enough to believe that their eleven-year-old daughter, who was currently sitting between them and looking utterly bemused at the whole situation, was a _witch_.

That, however, was exactly what the man in front of them seemed to be attempting to tell them. He was a short, balding man with a rather over-sized moustache, horn-rimmed glasses and clothes that looked like they'd come straight out of a Dickens' novel. He said his name was Edward Hubble, and he'd arrived unannounced just after breakfast with a letter in his hand and a shocking, if rather bizarre announcement to make – an announcement that Dr. and Dr. Granger most certainly did not believe.

Edward Hubble took a deep breath and said, "I'm sure you're finding this difficult to believe, but I assure you that it is true."

William Granger stared at him coldly. "Whatever scam it is that you're trying to pull, it certainly isn't going to work. You should have tried the family at number twelve; a load of hippies, they are. They'd believe you in a moment."

Edward Hubble looked as though he heard this sort of thing all the time. "We could do nothing of the sort. No matter what your neighbours think, they are simply muggles, whereas your daughter is a witch."

"What's a muggle?" Hermione spoke for the first time since Mr. Hubble had arrived. It wasn't often that she came across a word she didn't know, so of course her interest was piqued.

"It's what we call non-magical people like your parents and your neighbours," Mr. Hubble explained.

Hermione looked at him, confused. "Well, sir, how can I be a witch if neither of my parents are? Where does it come from?"

"Don't listen to this rubbish, Hermione," William Granger snapped at his daughter. "He's obviously part of some scam to get money out of us."

Mr. Hubble ignored Dr. Granger's comment and answered Hermione's question with a wry smile. "I'm afraid we don't really know the answer to that, Miss. Granger. All we know is that magic is carried by a recessive gene, so we get a lot of witches and wizards from muggle families, just like yourself."

Unlike her husband, Maria Granger was actually listening to what was being said. "Even if that's true, which I doubt, how can you tell that Hermione's a witch?"

Instead of answering directly, Mr. Hubble simply smiled slightly and said, "Has anything strange ever happened around your daughter when she got overly emotional?"

Maria Granger thought for a while, then nodded slowly, "Well, yes. There was one time, when she was very young, where I saw all the toys in her room floating around, but they fell to the floor as soon as I walked into the room, so I assumed I must have been imagining it.

"And then there was one time, at my mother's birthday party, when she was arguing with her cousin and his hair suddenly turned pink. We never could find an explanation as to why that had happened."

From the expression on Dr. and Dr. Granger's faces, Edward Hubble could see that a lot more things had happened as well. Excellent, so they were beginning to see the reality of the situation, no matter how impossible it seemed at first. They almost always did in the end.

Finally William Granger spoke again, "How far away is this school?"

"It's up in the Scottish highlands, Dr. Granger. I'm afraid that's all I can tell you."

This time it was Maria Granger who looked shocked. "Scotland?" she said. "But that's so far away!"

"You needn't worry," Mr. Hubble said. "Hogwarts is the best wizarding school in Britain, as well as one of the safest places you can imagine."

"And the academic standards?" William Granger asked.

"Hogwarts has produced some of the finest witches and wizards of the age. Indeed, every one of our Ministers for magic has been a Hogwarts graduate. And headmaster Dumbledore is widely regarded as the most powerful wizard alive."

Dr. Granger looked over the list of school supplies once more, then said, "We'll consider it, Mr. Hubble."

Mr. Hubble sighed. Well, that had gone as well as he could have hoped for; very few muggleborn students had parents who immediately let their children go to a school they'd never heard of on the other side of the country to study magic. He got up, smiling.

"Either way, please be sure to send us your answer by no later than July 31st. Good day to you, sir, ma'am" he said and walked out of the door.

William Granger turned to his wife. "Maria, darling, I really don't know if this would be a good idea…"

"Yes, Will, it's rather far away, isn't it?" Maria Granger sighed.

Hermione looked rather put out by her parents' words. "You have to let me go," she said.

"And why is that?" William Granger asked his daughter.

"Because I'm going to be able to study magic. _Magic_, father; where else am I ever going to have the opportunity to study that? Besides, maybe it'll be harder than school. It'll be a lot more interesting if it is."

"What use is magic going to be though," Dr. Granger sighed, half to himself.

Hermione got up, uncharacteristically annoyed. "You have to let me go!" she shouted, storming out of the room as the glass in the windows behind her shattered into a million pieces.

Maria Granger looked first at the glass that was all over the floor, then at her husband, whose face had turned as white as a sheet.

"I think we have to let her go, dear," she said. "Otherwise she'll be accidentally blowing up the house next."


End file.
